


The Night Before the Fall

by Katbelle



Category: X-Men: First Class (2011) - Fandom
Genre: Alternate Canon, Angst, Bittersweet, Brother-Sister Relationships, Brotherhood of Mutants, F/M, M/M, Unrequited Love
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-01-22
Updated: 2012-01-22
Packaged: 2017-10-29 23:19:53
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 629
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/325285
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Katbelle/pseuds/Katbelle
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The night before the Cuba Fall, Raven and Erik have a talk. What they discover is that Raven counts and Erik might actually need something from her.</p><p>(Aka the story where Cuba is one big Reichenbach Fall, and Raven is a Molly to Erik's Sherlock.<br/>So obviously spoilers to <em>Sherlock</em> 2x03.)</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Night Before the Fall

**Author's Note:**

> Written for this prompt: _When he was in the submarine with Shaw, Erik realised that there was more to Shaw's criminal empire than just the man himself. There was a whole underground network of people who would just carry out his plan should Shaw be killed._
> 
>  _So Erik realised that the only way to really stop Shaw was to take his place, form the Brotherhood and bring it down from the inside._
> 
>  _But to do it, he'd have to pretend to Charles that he was betraying him, betraying his newfound family._
> 
>  _(Sprinkle Charles/Erik liberally for added angst.)_
> 
> Obviously it's me, so simply filling a prompt was not an option.

**The Night Before the Fall**

 

"It's time for you to be free."

He leans forward and kisses her. She closes her eyes and feels... disappointed. This is nothing like the true love's kisses from the fairy tales Charles used to read to her when they were younger. This is even less of a kiss than that messy spit-exchange she engaged in with one of Charles' mates from Oxford. This is nothing sexual, she decides eventually. It's comfort and compassion and maybe borderline pity. Friendship, yes. But not love. Raven opens her eyes when Erik stops pity-kissing her and withdraws.

"Go to sleep, Raven," he advices. "It's going to be a long, long day tomorrow."

There's something wrong with the way he says those words. It's obvious that he means more than just the ultimate showdown with Shaw and his lackeys. Judging by the hollowness of his voice, it's much more than that. And, _God_ , the expression on his face. Raven turned away just for a second, to grab her robe, and in that one second Erik's face fell, lost the-- well, the _mask_ that he's been wearing for days now. There are no words to properly describe all the ways in which his face changed, no words for what Raven felt when she looked at him again. Only that--

"You're like Charles," she says and Erik's brows rise. "Sorry, I didn't mean--"

"Should I feel offended?"

She licks her lips.

"When we were," _abused_ , _unwanted_ , _miserable_ , "little, he was always cheerful, he was lovely." Erik smiles crookedly. "Except when he thought no one could see. I--" She lowers her gaze. She's not sure why she's telling him this - she shouldn't, it's personal - but she feels it's important, somehow. "I saw him, once. He looked... _sad_."

"Raven, really--"

" _You_ look sad," she carries on and Erik falls silent. He looks guilty now. "When you know, when you _think_ , no one, _Charles_ , can't see you." Erik looks at her, right at her - almost through her - with those steely eyes of his. They are more than just sad. "Are you okay, Erik? And don't just say you are, because I _know_ what it means, looking sad when you think no one can see you."

"You can see me."

She smiles. _Oh, Erik_ , she thinks.

"I don't count," she says and means, _I'm not him_. Erik seems to get the hidden meaning of her message. "What I'm trying to say is that if there's anything I can do, anything you need, _anything at all_ , you can have... me."

She winces. It doesn't sound as good as it was supposed to, it sounds more like she's propositioning him - _again_ \- and not like she's trying to offer all the help and comfort she can give him. But Erik, oh, Erik looks wretched. Wretched and miserable, and also thankful. Like he wasn't sure there was anyone who would even bother offering.

"No," he says finally. Raven pretends not to look disappointed. "No, I'm not okay."

 _Oh_.

"Is it Shaw?" He nods. "Tell me what's wrong."

"Yes. But not only. It's his supporters. His empire. Even if we take him out tomorrow, there's still going to be a giant web of lies, hate and crime that he's left behind." Oh God, he sounds so resigned, so _bitter_. "And I don't know what I could possibly do."

She puts her hand over his wrist.

"What do you need?" she asks and swears to herself that she'll help him, in every way she'll be able to. There must be a reason why he's not talking about this with Charles, and maybe that means that keeping Charles safe is really the thing that they truly have in common.

He takes her hand into his much bigger one and squeezes.

"You."

**Author's Note:**

> The dialogue obviously taken from _Sherlock_ 2x03 "The Reichenbach Fall". If you've seen, the pool for the creys is on the left. If you haven't, what are you even doing here?


End file.
